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McDonaldization and globalization
McDonaldization and globalization
Childhood obesity united states
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The food that we as a nation consumes reflects the health and well being of the American people. We have become so accustomed to fast food and easy, unhealthy, diet choices that diseases like diabetes has become very prevalent and on the rise. One in every three Americans born after 2000 will contract early onset diabetes. In the film “Food Inc.” takes a look into a typical grocery store and reveals the illusion of variety. Most of the food in the industry leads back to corn. High fructose corn syrup, a sweetener made from corn starch, is found in many of the foods and beverages that we consume. High fructose corn syrup has been linked to metabolic diseases like obesity and diabetes. Corn has become very affordable and abundant and big food …show more content…
One in every two of American minorities born after 2000 will contract early onset of diabetes. The price of medicine to treat diabetes is very expensive, especially for those who are uninsured or with little or poor insurance coverage. In many low income families and families of minorities the expenses of medicine take away from income. These families are then unable to buy healthy foods. Cheap food means it is also unhealthier, take a look at fast food restaurants that offer dollar menu items. You can easily buy a burger for a dollar or a large soda full of high fructose corn syrup for only a dollar. Water is more expensive than soda or sugary drinks in many instances. Diabetes is caused by eating foods that are unhealthy and requires daily medication to control. These medications can be very expensive causing families to continue their unhealthy eating habits because it is the only thing they can afford to eat so a cycle is created and passed on to the younger generations. Food companies have place a veil between us and the food we consume, even things that appear to be a healthy choice, in many cases is not. We consume food that is injected with fillers like pink slime, foods that contain high fructose corn syrup, and are genetically modified. It is no wonder why America has seen a rise in childhood obesity and the early onset of diabetes. The pictures in the store that depict pretty …show more content…
Pictures displayed in grocery stores paint a picture of American farmers harvesting only the freshest production for your consumption. The truth is the majority of our food is from factories, not farms. Assembly line production has lead to human and animal abuse. Industrial food began with fast food restaurants. McDonald’s revolutionized food production by introducing factory like production into their restaurants, this was dubbed “McDonaldization”. Employee’s were viewed as replaceable, treated poorly, and paid low wages. Workers were taught and expected to carry a mentality of conformity. Factory production of food uses people in assembly lines to perform like machines performing the same task over and over. Abuse of migrant workers has also been found in many processing plants, hiring migrant workers for less pay and more dangerous jobs is common. Nicknamed “human machines” factory workers in slaughter houses, meat packing plants, and processing plants are required to perform repetitive motions more a meager pay, stripping them of their identity as humans. Workers are abused and used until they can no longer perform their duties and they are let go and replaced. Another reason migrant workers are often used is because they simply won't complain. Big companies seek workers from Mexico to come work in their plants because they know migrant workers are here illegally and will not
High-fructose corn syrup is a commonly used artificial sweetener in foods. High-fructose corn syrup is a hydrolyzed version of ordinary corn syrup, which is produced via a steeping process. It is so widely used because it is both economically favorable and it helps to preserve food for extended periods of time. However, the drawbacks of high-fructose corn syrup include issues like potential obesity, diabetes, loss of liver function, malnutrition, and cancer. The fact that the producers of high-fructose corn syrup can deceive people that HFCS is harmless makes matters worse.
... and unsafe. The struggles the migrant farm worker faces are of the most severe of any industry, and yet, they are true to their craft. They always ensure the product they harvest meets the expectations of the American consumer.
However, the outcome was different from his desired result due to strong protest from the dairy and livestock industry, so the Congress instead urged people to buy lean meat and less fat food so the dairy and livestock industry do not go out of business. This created the fat-free boom in the market in the 1980s. However, food companies began to put more sugar in their products because the taste was bad when they reduced fat in the food. Now, the sugar intake of Americans has doubled compared with before. In the American market, there are approximately 600,000 different food products, and 80% of those include sugar. Although sugar is written in various forms and names, one suggests that it’s bad in any form, especially if taken too much. Sugar consumed naturally through fiber-rich fruit or vegetable should be fine, but the added sweeteners stimulate the hormones that increase insulin. High insulin prevents people from thinking they are full, and thus crave more food. This causes many diseases. Of course one meal high in sugar will not kill them, but the problem is that people generally exceed daily sugar intake in one meal alone when consuming process food. We eat more processed and convenient food instead of fruits, vegetables, and
Most of the critics agree with the movie and highly recommend the film, although other critics challenge the film, saying it has inflated the facts blaming a single nutrient, sugar, may lead to overweight and obesity. In 1977, the United States Government produced a document titled, “Dietary Goals For The United States.” This document set the dietary goals we know today. The recommended carbohydrate consumption in 1977 was 55%-60%, with a 15% sugar intake. In 2010, that is the most current, it is recommended to consume 45%-65% and 5%-15% sugar intake. The film mentioned that carbohydrates that include processed starch has the same effect as pure sugar. According to Hardvard T.H. Chan under the School Of Public Health, when the public consumes food containing carbohydrates, the body digest it into sugar. The critics Steve Dorfman, Michael Sauter and David Templeton all agree that the government, the media and the sugar industry plays an important role in the rise of the American obesity epidempic. They also make valid points that the average American consumes more sugar than before. Although Jerry Hagstrom and the International Food Council Foundation states the film Fed Up inflated claims, the facts presented are significant enough to be noticed. The U.S. government policy effectively regulates the safety of the food industry, although the long
Diabetes is a prevalent health disparity among the Latino population. Diabetes is listed as the fifth leading cause of death among the Latino population in the website for Center for Disease Control and Prevention, CDC, in 2009. According to McBean, “the 2001 prevalence among Hispanics was significantly higher than among blacks.” (2317) In other words among the Hispanic or Latino community, there is a higher occurrence of diabetes as compared to other racial/ethnic groups such as Blacks and Native Americans. The prevalence of diabetes among Latinos is attributed to the social determinants of health such as low socioeconomic status and level of education. Further, this becomes an important public health issue when it costs the United States $174 billion in both direct and indirect costs, based on the 2007 The National Diabetes Fact Sheet released by the CDC. In turn, medical expenses are twice as high for a patient that has diabetes as opposed to one without. Finally, this high cost becomes another barrier to receiving care for Latinos when some are in the low socioeconomic status.
In the United States, approximately twenty thousand vending machines are in use in schools. It is estimated that more than half of those machines are currently selling snacks and beverages that are overflowing with white refined sugar. White refined sugar is raw sugar that is processed with different acids to give it the white color that sugar is known for. White refined sugar is nearly a drug. It is addictive and in large amounts is awful for the human body. There is variety of health problems that are to be concerned with when people consume vast amounts of sugar. One of the most important health problems in American society is obesity, but even more important is childhood obesity. The number of children obese in the United States has more than tripled in the last 20 years. Children consume up to 4 lbs of sugar a week. This number has more than doubled since the late 1800’s and into the 1900’s when the average person only ate about 5 lbs a year. Part of the reason this number is so high is because the junk food does not stop at home. It continues at school when children buy school lu...
As a leading producer of high fructose corn syrup, they are processing corn in a way that makes it unhealthy. According to the Mayo Clinic, as the increased use of HFCS in soda and fruit flavored drinks so has there been an increase in obesity and type 2 diabetes. They do go on to say that there hasn't been a study that can directly link them. There are however more companies offering their products without HFCS everyday. Many food companies, including restaurants and grocery stores have moved toward more healthy products. The consumer today is far more informed than they ever have been in the past. In 1950 there were more than 700 food additives in use in food being sold at the time, only 428 were known to be safe for consumption. These additives add shelf life and flavors to products for companies around the world and are able to cut costs giving the consumer a choice to eat or drink
In the movie FED UP by Laurie David/Katie Couric, we take on a serious issue in the United States, it’s the rise of obesity in children. Our children, the future of our nation face deadly conditions and disease such as overweight, stroke, diabetes, cancers, high blood pressure. The cause of this is because the food industry pack a load of sugar in everything they sell, instead of fat. When you go to HEB or Walmart, you will see that almost every food is now advertised as low-fat or lite. Indeed there will be less fat, but packed with the stuff called high fructose corn syrup, or simply put sugar. Almost 80% of food in the market have added sugar. In facts, sugar is highly addictive, the craving induced is on par with drugs like cocaine and nicotine. Sugar makes every food taste a whole lot better, at the same time, it also the cause of obesity in children in the U.S. In the video there a lot of facts that has been throwing at viewers. As interesting such as why is a calorie is not a calorie. This emphasize the difference between food’s calories. Let’s say 100 calorie of veggies versus 100 calorie of sugary soda. They are the same amount of calorie, however, 100 calorie of veggies will likely to make our stomach full, and it does not work up our liver. When we consume 100 of coke, one hundred percent of the content will go straight to liver. It will get the liver worked up, and produce a lot of fat. The same concept will also apply when we compare the differences between 160 calorie in almonds and 160 calorie soda. When we take almonds into our body, it will make us full and it won’t
The health of our nation is an important topic that has been discussed for many years. It is no surprise that much of what contributes to illness such as heart disease and obesity is the consumption of sugar and junk foods. This is a simple fact that is widely known, but the government still feels the need to step in when it comes to controlling the population’s eating habits. Unfortunately, simply recognizing that something is bad is not always enough to deter someone from indulging. When it comes to our nation’s dietary habits, it is clear that some people may need assistance in making better choices and that is why the health and fitness industry is so big. At the end of the day, it is up to every individual to make their own choices whether
Some of the latest data on diabetes suggest that although there was a doubling of the incidence and prevalence of diabetes from 1990 to 2008, there has been a plateauing, or slowing, in the diabetes epidemic (Fiore, 2014). Although there appears to be a slowing in the epidemic, there have been continued increases in the prevalence and incidence of diabetes among subgroups, including African Americans and Hispanics (Fiore,
Food is a major part of everyone’s everyday life. It’s hard to imagine life without the chocolate cake on your fingers or a carne asada taco in your mouth. Enjoying delicious desserts and fast food seem extremely magnificent to eat and spend money buying them. Although, there have been many controversies in the United States on how it’s the largest country with the most obesity regarding children, which affects their health, many people are still going throughout their day snacking. Many people in America are having full course meals with thousands of calories in one sitting not knowing the short term or long term side effects that are going to take a huge toll on their lives. Food is delicious, but it comes with a secret behind the savoriness/sweetness.
Ever since the introduction of sugar-sweetened beverages back in the late 1800s, intake of sugar-sweetened beverages has increased around the globe. For example, between 1999 and 2006, intake of these beverages has doubled in Mexico across all age groups (Barquera 2008). As well as in the United States, between 1977 and 2002, the intake of caloric beverages per capita doubled across all age group (Duffey 2002). The obesity epidemic has brought the attention of public health measures to prevent diet related diseases. “Sugar-sweetened beverages (soda sweetened with sugar, corn syrup, or other caloric sweeteners and other carbonated and [non-]carbonated drinks, such as sports and energy drinks) may be the single largest driver of the obesity
Over two thirds of adults are overweight or obese. Over one third are obese. About one third of children are overweight or obese. About one sixth are obese (Overweight and Obesity). The recent surge of the refined sugars has led to these statistics. In 1980, 47 percent of adults were overweight or obese. In 1990, the number rose to 59 percent and in 2000 that number reached 70 percent! (U.S. Adult Obesity Rates). In addition, over 12 percent of adults have diabetes, and more than a third of the population over 20 is considered prediabetic. If the rise continues, it is estimated that one fifth of the country will have diabetes in 2025, and one third of the country in 2050 (Medical News). The country is intaking too much sugar. People are getting sick from the refined sugar and it is ruining many Americans lives. To add on, there have also been studies that show “Consuming 75 to 100 grams of simple sugars (about 20 teaspoons of sugar – the amount found in two-and-a-half average 12 ounce cans of soda) can suppress the body’s immune responses considerably” (Bamboo Core). Just drinking two and a half cans of soda a day can already deteriorate one’s health. It is said that the sugars create a “40 to 50% drop in the ability of white blood cells to kill bacteria and germs within the body” (Bamboo Core). This drop in the white blood cells efficiency leads to increased bacteria and germs going through the system. “The
Unfortunately, these families do not realize the long-term effects of such low-nutrition diet, as the core ingredients and vitamins are replaced by an excessive amounts of sugar, carbohydrates and unsaturated fat. Professor McColl indicates that, “when carbohydrates and sugar enter the stomach, the food quickly moves on and there is no feeling of having had a full meal; hunger returns and the consumer starts to eat again” (McColl). This illustrates a repetitive cycle between junk food and the consumer. Weight-gain, however, is not repetitive—it’s continuous. The food industry is constantly searching to cut back the production costs, this includes the use of cheap chemicals and substitutes in order to manufacture a delicious product. When speaking about the ultra-processed foods, Dr. Holly Phillips states, “What you 're really getting are chemicals -- additives, things like preservatives, sweeteners, coloring, flavoring, trans fats, emulsifiers. These are all chemicals that are then put back into 'fake ' foods to make them taste real” (Welch). It takes years for the consumer to make a connection between eating habits and weight. Unfortunately, solving such a gradual fattening of our population isn’t atop the priority list of the government. Such a situation reminds me of the boiling frog anecdote—will the morbid
Health is the most precious asset that you will ever have. “You are what you eat” is an old saying that tell us all one simple ingredient to a healthy life. Nutritious and healthy food. Unfortunately, our food nowadays are not even close to the image of “healthy”. Fast-food, cakes, soft drinks, and instant food can be found in our daily life. Foods that are filled with artificial sweetener, trans-fat, cholestrol, preservatives, and MSG. These foods will only bring damage to our body, there is no fiber, vitamin, Let alone fast foods and cakes, vegetable and fruits are now posing a threat to our health. Artificial fertilizer, insecticides, and pesticides are used in order to make the harvest better.